Denver Mint
, |coordinates= 39°44′23″N 104°59′30.17″W |established= 1863 |built= 1897 |governed by= United States Department of the Treasury |issues= United States coinage }} The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint located in the capital of , in the United States. It is currently operating and minting coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced here bear a D mint mark, which was formerly used by the Dahlonega Mint before it was closed. The Denver Mint is the single largest coin producer in the world. History 1972.]] The predecessor of the Denver Mint was the Clark, Gruber & Company. During the Gold Rush at , they coined gold dust brought from the fields by the miners. From 1860 to 1861, gold coins were minted, and then ingots in 1862. During 1863, the company was formally purchased by the United States Treasury. Created by an on April 21, 1862, the Denver Mint opened for business during late 1863 as a United States . Operations of the mint began in the facilities of Clark, Gruber & Company, found at 16th and Market Streets and acquired by the government for $25,000. Unlike its predecessor, the Denver plant performed no coinage of gold as it was first intended to do. A reason for the lack of coinage produced by the Denver Mint given by the director was "... the hostility of the Indian tribes along the routes, doubtless instigated by rebel emissaries (there being a ) and bad white men." Gold and gold nuggets were brought to the Denver Mint by miners from the area and were accepted by the Assay Office for melting, assaying, and stamping cast gold bars. These bars were then returned to the depositors as imparted bars stamped with the weight and fineness of gold. Most of this gold came from the beds of placer gold located in streams and first discovered during 1858, the same exact year that Denver was founded. After the gold supply from streams depleted, mining was emphasized, uncovering veins of with high amounts of gold and silver. By 1869, the annual value of gold and silver deposited here reached over $5.6 million. During its early years as an Assay Office, it was the most substantial structure located in Denver. The US Treasury did not expand its smelting and refining operations simultaneously as the discovery and production of gold. During 1872, a group of businessmen led by , Joseph Miner, and the mayor of Denver, established a firm , which built an independent complementary plant which processed ore into ingots which were subsequently assayed, weighed, and stamped by the Denver Mint. There was new hope for a branch mint status when the provided money for establishing a mint at Denver for the production of gold and silver coins. On April 22, 1896, the site for the new mint at and Delaware streets was purchased for approximately $60,000. Its construction began and ended in 1897. from the Denver Mint.Re: Uncirculated Denver "Penny" at Coin Club]] Public funds to complete and equip the Denver Mint were not adequate, and the transfer of the assay operations to the new building were delayed up until September 1, 1904. Coinage operations at the mint finally began during February 1906, advancing its status to Branch Mint. In addition, before the machinery to be used for the Mint was installed for use, it was sent to the of 1904 to be displayed. In 1906, silver coins were minted at the facility for the first time. During its first year of coin circulation, 167 million coins, including $20 gold (double eagle) coins, $10 gold (eagle) coins, $5 gold (half eagle) coins, and various denominations of silver coins. References * Category:United States Mint Category:Mints